Rennteam 2.0 - EN - Forum - Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Apr 28, 2006 12:45:54 AM

Louis: Pilot; Loc: Toronto , Canada , Canada; Posts: 373, Gallery; Registered on: Jun 28, 2005

Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Most people refer to the car as a "911" but the badging is "Carrera", "Carrera S" etc. I use it interchangeably but the name 911 seems to be more universally recongnized as "THE Porsche sports car."
I am interested in why the 2 names and which one is the proper one. I understand that the name Carrera originates from a famous historic race. Just curious and would like to know a little history about it. Thanks in advance

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 1:09:08 AM

The Groom: Expert; Loc: EU; Posts: 1779, Gallery; Registered on: Jan 23, 2005; Reply to: Louis

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

The Carrera name originates from the famous Carrera Panamericana (Carrera = race in Spanish). Porsche gave this name to the most powerful 356 at first. They were like the GT3 of today.

In 1973, Porsche introduced the Carrera RS. Like the 356, it was the most powerful, race-ready model. After the first major restyling, the Carrera continued as the best model of the line-up. During this time, the 911 was offered with a wide choice of engines, with the Carrera on top.

The Turbo was introduced in 1975, outpowering the Carrera as the most powerful 911. Shortly after, the 911 SC was released as a single n/a model - the Carrera name was no longer in use (SC actually meant Super Carrera, but the car has always been officially called "SC").
Meanwhile, the Carrera name was used once again for a race-ready model, but it was a 924.

When the Carrera name was brought back to the 911 product line in 1984, it was still the only n/a model: the Carrera was now the base 911. This situation hasn't changed since then.

The 911 remains the correct name. There have been non-911 Carreras (the 356, the 924 and of course the Carrera GT). On the other hand, many 911 models are not Carreras: the Turbo, GT2 and GT3, and the Targa for instance.

You can find more info on the 911 on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 1:44:52 AM

The Groom: Expert; Loc: EU; Posts: 1779, Gallery; Registered on: Jan 23, 2005; Reply to: The Groom

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Come to think of it, the very first 930 Turbo were called Turbo Carrera. It did not last long, though, and the Carrera moniker disappeared completely in 1978.

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 1:57:26 AM

jcs: Pilot; Loc: nj; Posts: 308, Gallery; Registered on: Mar 3, 2006; Reply to: The Groom

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

To expand on the above:
The first time Porsche used the name "Carrera" was when they introduced the 356A (with the optional 1500GS engine )at the Frankfurt auto show in 1955.
The engine was a slightly de-tuned Porsche Spyder engine .
The name "Carrera" was used in honor of the Spyder , which had won the "Carrera Panamera " Mexican road race two years in a row .
The 356 eventually evolved into the 911 in 1964.

Btw: The forthcoming new Porsche Sport Coupe due out in ~ 2009 will be named the "Panamera".

Technically , I think the name "Carrera " should be used together with 911 to avoid any confusion , since it is also used for the Carrera GT model( alas , due to be discontinued next month )

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 2:11:48 AM

Vincenzina: Pilot; Loc: Dubai UAE; Posts: 395, Gallery; Registered on: Oct 12, 2005; Reply to: jcs

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

I thought we were going by 997..to distinguish the era built! Its nice to read about Porsche history though...

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 2:36:39 AM

964C2: Expert; Loc: Dallas, TX , United States; Posts: 1434, Gallery; Registered on: May 11, 2004; Reply to: Vincenzina

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Quote:
Vincenzina said:
I thought we were going by 997..to distinguish the era built! Its nice to read about Porsche history though...

Numbers like 930, 951, 964, 965, 993, 996, 986, 997, 987.... are all internal Porsche car series designations, they were never meant to be used in advertising or visible externally on a car as a logo.

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 2:42:38 AM

smiley: Junior; Loc: fla; Posts: 82, Gallery; Registered on: Mar 12, 2006; Reply to: 964C2

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

i m gonna remove carrera s and simply put 911.

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 2:55:01 AM

Moogle: Rennteam Master; Loc: Bay Area , United States; Posts: 5019, Gallery; Registered on: Aug 9, 2003; Reply to: Vincenzina

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Quote:
Vincenzina said:
I thought we were going by 997..to distinguish the era built! Its nice to read about Porsche history though...

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 2:56:27 AM

Moogle: Rennteam Master; Loc: Bay Area , United States; Posts: 5019, Gallery; Registered on: Aug 9, 2003; Reply to: Vincenzina

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Quote:
Vincenzina said:
I thought we were going by 997..to distinguish the era built! Its nice to read about Porsche history though...

there are people out there that don't know it.

funny story from ppbb.com

one of the guys was driving a boxster and pulled up to someone driving a brand new 997, boxster guy goes "nice 997", the guy in the 997 goes "its a 911, pfft"

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 3:06:48 AM

Louis: Pilot; Loc: Toronto , Canada , Canada; Posts: 373, Gallery; Registered on: Jun 28, 2005; Reply to: The Groom

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Thanks for the link Groom

Very interesting sight with good info - exactly what I was looking for.
Cheers

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 4:38:22 AM

Georges G. Hayek: Senior; Loc: Beirut , Lebanon; Posts: 645, Gallery; Registered on: Feb 1, 2006; Reply to: Louis

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

That's my preference...

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 7:55:50 AM

Jeannot: Expert; Loc: Switzerland; Posts: 1375, Gallery; Registered on: Feb 13, 2005; Reply to: Moogle

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Quote:
Moogle said:

there are people out there that don't know it.

funny story from ppbb.com

one of the guys was driving a boxster and pulled up to someone driving a brand new 997, boxster guy goes "nice 997", the guy in the 997 goes "its a 911, pfft"

Hehe, had the same remark from a 996 owner, sorry 911 owner

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 10:20:57 AM

easy_rider911: Rennteam Moderator; Loc: London , United Kingdom; Posts: 20667, Gallery; Registered on: Nov 8, 2004; Reply to: Jeannot

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

In my understanding, they aren't alternatives. 911 is the overall model within the Porsche range. Carrera is simply the particular variant within the 911 model range. So the correct name is a Porsche 911 Carrera.

Now, what you want to call your car when people ask you what you drive it really up to you. There was a thread here on rennteam about this very subject some time back.

Responses varied from one extreme (really vague/evasive descriptions e.g. 'a sports car' or 'a german car') through the 'middle ground' (e.g. 'a Porsche' or 'a 911') all the way to the other extreme 'a Porsche 911 Carrera S etc which is a very detailed answer).

Have a search - you'll find that thread.

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 10:45:49 AM

The Groom: Expert; Loc: EU; Posts: 1779, Gallery; Registered on: Jan 23, 2005; Reply to: 964C2

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Quote:
964C2 said:
Numbers like 930, 951, 964, 965, 993, 996, 986, 997, 987.... are all internal Porsche car series designations, they were never meant to be used in advertising or visible externally on a car as a logo.

Just to nitpick, the original Turbo was sold as "Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera", then "Porsche 930 Turbo" in the US.

But otherwise you're right, and many customers don't even know which generation they're driving.

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 12:15:35 PM

MMD: Rennteam VIP; Loc: usa; Posts: 9652, Gallery; Registered on: Dec 16, 2004; Reply to: Louis

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

The US
The States
Stateside
America
The USA
The United States
All names for the same thing. I guess it's the same for the 911 and Carrera; then again the 356 was called the Carrera. But Canadians live in America too. AWGGH!

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 12:43:18 PM

Patriot: Junior; Loc: Texas; Posts: 110, Gallery; Registered on: Dec 13, 2004; Reply to: MMD

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Here's the poll and thread that I started on this subject:

http://www.rennteam.com/showflat.php?Cat...true#Post203224

Patriot

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 2:53:21 PM

jcs: Pilot; Loc: nj; Posts: 308, Gallery; Registered on: Mar 3, 2006; Reply to: Patriot

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

OK, now that my curiosity was aroused, I did a little research ,with the following results :

1. The official Porsche sales booklet calls it "The new 911 Carrera "

2. The original dealer sales receipt(deposit) calls it " New Porsche , Model 997 S , body type 2 dr "

2. The final dealer sales receipt calls it " 2006 PORSCHE Model: 911 CARR S COUP , 2 DR S CPE "

3. The pro forma invoice from Porsche Cars North America calls it " 2006 Carrera S Coupe "

4. The sticker on the car calls it " 2006 Carrera S Coupe "

5. The State Certificate of Title calls it " 2006 POR 911 2 DR "

6. The official Porsche Certificate of authenticity calls it Model Year / Type : "2006 Carrera S Coupe "
(no mention of 911 )

7. My insurance Co. calls it " 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera "

Results : Well, you figure it out ( yikes)
The Porsche company mentions 911 only once(on the sales brochure) All other "official" Porsche documents call it simply the "Carrera"

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 3:13:05 PM

edz: Rennteam Pro; Loc: South Orange County; Posts: 2022, Gallery; Registered on: Oct 11, 2005; Reply to: Louis

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

911 is always the name everyone will remember. Most people even those that know nothing about cars, the second they here the name Porsche they think 911. In 1979 when I was finishing High School in Ann Arbor Michigan. 911 Turbo was a rare find at $55,000 and then 928 at $37,000 and then the 911SC at $22,000 and 911 Targa at $27,000. The sale person at Howard Cooper Porsche told me then 50% of the 911 sold in Michigan back then came back in 6 months because the driver got in an accident. 911's were considered very fast cars back then and not a typical car for an average driver to drive or know how to drive

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 5:32:01 PM

JWW: Newbie; Loc: Connecticut, USA; Posts: 38, Gallery; Registered on: Oct 6, 2005; Reply to: edz

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

I think the correct name is Porsche 911 Carrera, Porsche 911 Carrera S, Porsche 911 Turbo etc... i.e. Porsche is the brand, 911 the family name and carrera is the model.

Next
Threads

Apr 28, 2006 8:23:01 PM

fritz: Rennteam VIP; Loc: BaWü , Germany; Posts: 7675, Gallery; Registered on: Jul 23, 2003; Reply to: The Groom

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Quote:
The Groom said:
Quote:
964C2 said:
Numbers like 930, 951, 964, 965 , 993, 996, 986, 997, 987.... are all internal Porsche car series designations, they were never meant to be used in advertising or visible externally on a car as a logo.

Just to nitpick, the original Turbo was sold as "Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera", then "Porsche 930 Turbo" in the US.

But otherwise you're right, and many customers don't even know which generation they're driving.

Also just to nitpick, the use of the supposed type number "965" - which somehow became common in the USA when referring to (if I remember correctly) the 964-based Turbo - does not correspond to Porsche's type numbers. Somebody, somewhere started using the number 965 inappropriately, and it caught on.

This wouldn't matter so much if there hadn't been a "real" 965 model, which never actually made it to the production line. (This was also mentioned in the Wikipedia entry which the link shown above leads to).

Top
Threads

Board	Subject	Last post	Views	Replies
Porsche	991 spy shots 2ND THREAD (for UNRELEASED models only)	5/22/12 9:37 PM Rossi	101228	478
Porsche	OFFICIAL : New Porsche Boxster 981	4/27/12 9:54 AM boytronic	53071	588
Motor Sp.	F1 Website Links	1/26/12 2:11 PM easy_rider911	39139	15
Porsche	ROAD-TEST: New 991 CarreraS	5/2/12 10:29 AM RC	20033	126
Porsche	Porsche 991 Carrera S - Review (Short)	1/21/12 2:50 PM RC	15419	104
Porsche	OFFICIAL: The New Porsche Cayenne GTS	4/27/12 7:19 PM BlackSparrow	5035	45
Porsche	991 spy shots (THREAD FULL)	8/26/11 1:44 PM Budster	647343	4903
Porsche	Ladies and gentlemen, the new 991... (LAUNCH thread)	4/30/12 9:46 AM KiwiCanuck	385374	3344
Ferrari	Rennteam's tribute to the Ferrari 458...lots of photos, videos, etc.	10/29/11 10:59 AM Boxster Coupe GTS	165097	1675
Porsche	My Audition of Cargraphic Exhaust	7/4/11 1:38 PM cannga	139989	158
Others	McLaren MP4-12C supercar launch...	2/28/12 4:22 PM 4trac	133526	1026
Porsche	997 GT3 RS 4.0	5/10/12 1:43 AM bhnyc	119439	626
Porsche	Bilstein B16 Damptronic: A Must For The Turbo	10/31/11 3:21 AM cannga	84646	453
Porsche	997 GT2 RS - Official Information & Photos	2/11/12 8:55 PM Boxster Coupe GTS	76690	395
Porsche	New 997 Turbo S and Turbo S Cabriolet (2010)	7/11/11 1:17 AM dashi	68003	445
Porsche	Easy Rider's 911 Factory Collection Trip (with photos)	9/7/11 6:56 PM easy_rider911	61359	186
Lambo	Murcielago successor/replacement	6/29/11 1:46 AM Heist	51586	450
Porsche	918 RSR - Official Data & Photos	2/14/12 6:24 AM Futch	50437	170
Porsche	Official Information Regarding New 911 (type 991) Introduction and More	8/22/11 4:17 PM easy_rider911	46954	162
Porsche	Collected my 997 GTS today	5/20/12 11:41 AM John H	46543	563
Porsche	GT3 RS 4.0 - Everything you always wanted to know !	6/9/11 4:03 PM nizer	41942	43
Ferrari	Ferrari P4/5 Competizione Confirmed	5/24/11 6:52 PM Napolis	40488	287
Porsche	Chris Harris Previews GT3 RS	10/27/11 8:42 AM Budster	40433	138
Porsche	"why arent we tired and bored with our cars "	5/31/11 2:14 PM RC	38060	24
Others	Short Driving Report McLaren MP4-12C	3/28/12 8:04 AM loraineB	35539	90
Others	Sportauto Supertest McLaren MP4-12C	10/25/11 3:04 PM BiTurbo	20522	39
Porsche	2012 Boxster S leaked	1/12/12 11:02 AM Gauss	18182	151
Porsche	"Cajun" is now...MACAN	5/22/12 11:29 AM d997h	17917	356
BMW M	The new M5 - Official Specs	4/29/12 9:02 AM Atzporsche	16629	300
Porsche	The moment I've been waiting for...	5/6/12 12:16 AM Pilot	16618	196

Crown

Forum - Thread

Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Re: Carrera or 911: What is the "proper" name?

Forum

Boards